It is a famous traditional ink stone also called Pangu ink stone or “Pan ink stone”. Its name comes from its places of origin in Pangu of Jiyuan, Tiantan Mountain and Yan Mountain. Its stone structure is oily and smooth, the texture is close and fine, and it is hard but not fragile, soft but not weak, smooth but not slick. The ink stone made by the stone is vivid in figure, exquisite in craftsmanship and is popular in writers and poets in all dynasties. It is praised as “hard quality, perfect craftsmanship, bright color, pure sound, thick body and complete collection” (Eight Treatises on Following the Principles of Life, Gao Lian, Ming Dynasty), and is one of the famous ink stones of China.

    The stone texture of Tiantan ink stone is close, smooth and fine, soft but not weak, hard but not fragile, smooth but not slick, solid but not firm. It looks like precious jade and sounds like wooden knocker. Its color is sparkling like the jade and bright like the amber. It keeps the ink wet, pure and well-mixed to meet requirements of both painting and writing without damage to the writing brush. It thickens the ink, keeps the ink without loss and prevents the ink from rot and freezing in winter, and drying in summer. Paintings and writings made by the ink rubbed in Tiantan ink stone is free of insect damage, thus being called “treasury ink stone” and cherished by calligraphers and painters in all dynasties. It is honored as a kind of fine ink stone whose color is like the jade, sound is like the wooden knocker, value is more than the amber and price surpasses the jade of the He family. It is proved by Eight Treatises on Following the Principles of Life, Gao Lian, Ming Dynasty: “hard quality, perfect craftsmanship, bright color, pure sound, thick body and complete collection”.